Human Resource Policy Project 2
Abstract
Small companies face many challenges in maintaining a productive and balanced workplace
while trying to meet the needs of their employees. Written policies, outlined in the employee
handbook, play a critical role in providing clarity and consistency. This paper highlights four
essential policies that companies should consider having in their company such as moonlighting,
personal use of technology at work, dress code, and benefits of paid time off. It goes over their
significance in addressing emerging issues, mitigating conflicts, and fostering a positive
organizational culture. The policies listed aim to ensure a mutual understanding between the
employers and the employees while contributing to the overall success of the company.
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In today’s dynamic work environment, small companies face unique challenges in
maintaining a productive and pleasant workplace, while trying to address the diverse needs and
preferences of their employees. It is vital to have written policies to ensure that all employees
within the company are aware of them and can abide by them. Employee handbooks are used to
lay out the company's policies and procedures. Employee handbooks are provided to the
employees on the first day of employment, as they will have everything the employee needs to
know to stay within company policies. An employee handbook must establish policies well, with
clear guidelines to promote consistency and ensure mutual understanding between employers
and their employees. Four policies should be in the employee handbook of a small company, as
they can be beneficial for the company and the employees. Those policies consist of
moonlighting, personal use of technology at work, dress code, and benefits of paid time off.
These policies are vital, as they can address any emerging issues, mitigate potential conflicts, and
foster a positive organizational culture.
Policy 1: Moonlighting
Moonlighting is when a worker at a company holds a secondary job simultaneously,
working different hours or potentially the same time if remotely working (Auray et al., 2021).
Moonlighting used to be more common in the United States, especially during tough times, but it
has gradually decreased due to wages, and the economy. However, roughly still 25-35% of the
labor force in the United States is moonlighting currently (Noe, 2023). However, one of the main
reasons employees engage in moonlighting is to earn extra money to make ends meet, or to bring
in an extra stream of income to spend on other items (George & George, 2022). As found in a
survey by companies that don’t implement this policy in the workplace, roughly 52% of males
and 72.6% of females are moonlighting consistently to make more money, which could affect the
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employee's performance at their primary job (Scott et al., 2020). Allowing employees to
moonlight could also lead to potential conflicts of interest if an employee picks up a job at a
competitor where they could potentially try to take customers away from the business. It is more
likely that workers with higher education may moonlight and one of the potential ways to avoid
this occurring is to pay employees a higher wage (Auray et al., 2021). Paying employees, a
higher wage might not be in the small company's best interest, depending on the company's
current financial status and how profitable the business is. This can be a consequence to any
company large or small, especially at a dentist's office, as it can lead to several consequences if
companies do not put a moonlighting policy in the employee handbook. One of the negative
effects of employees moonlighting is having lower job satisfaction which can lead to lesser job
performance and can cause an employee to be more stressed, due to working multiple jobs (Scott
et al., 2020). If companies care about their employees, one way to ensure that there is no added
stress is by adding moonlighting as a policy at the small company. The benefit of having
moonlighting in place would be risk mitigation, as it would limit the potential for conflict of
interest for both the company and the employees. It would also clarify expectations if a
moonlighting policy was implemented by clearly outlining what is acceptable and unacceptable
behavior when it comes to a secondary job. Allowing employees to work at other jobs if
acceptable per the policy can lead to retaining employees by allowing them to seek out other
interests if it does not affect the primary job. Overall, a moonlighting policy should be
implemented and put in the employee handbook as it can protect the company’s interest.
Policy 2: Personal Use of Technology at Work
This policy will be on the personal use of technology since most workers in the United
States have handheld phones among other technology devices that are small and compact. When
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it comes to this policy, this section of the employee handbook needs to be updated often due to
the constant advancement of technology. There must be a mutual understanding of this policy, as
it can lead to lost business due to customers not wanting to return when seeing employees
spending more time on their personal devices rather than doing what they are being paid to do.
One of the main issues that can be caused due to not having a personal use of technology policy
put in place can be deemed as a security risk, with employees using phones connected to the
company Wi-Fi, it can lead to the firewalls being at risk along with Bluetooth or NFC
connections (Ali et al., 2022). If a company's firewall is at risk, it can be hacked through the
employee's phone that is using the Wi-Fi. Doing so can lead to sensitive information being
leaked to a hacker, which would greatly affect a small company and the customers as well since
their information will be stored. At a dentist's office, the employees must have their phones put
away during working hours to ensure no patient information is stolen, such as their social
security number and their credit card information to pay for visits. Since phones in today's world
can take crystal clear photos within seconds, it would be easy for an employee to steal sensitive
information if they wanted to. Furthermore, allowing employees the ability to have personal use
of technology at work can hurt their productivity, as it will be a distraction for the employees and
potentially others around them (Neștian et al., 2020). In addition to the personal use of
technology at work being a distraction, it will also steal company work time due to the employee
not working the entire time, leading to the company potentially losing money (Jiang et al., 2021).
Another consequence, if this policy is not added to the policy manual, is that allowing cell phone
usage in the workplace can affect the culture of the small company due to people not being more
focused on their personal lives (Misra et al., 2021). A positive of not allowing employees to use
their technology at work would be that it can lead to a decrease in the employees’ work-life
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conflict, as they would not be distracted. An example of this would be family issues that the
employee is currently having (Whelan & Turel, 2023). The benefit of adding this element to the
policy manual would help the employees themselves to have less stress during work, due to the
inability to be on their phones during work hours. Psalm 56:3 shows us that, “When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you”. This biblical principle can apply to the policy of not using personal
technology at work for the employees for when they are going through hard times during work
due to outside stressors, they need to put faith in the Lord that things will work out.
Policy 3: Dress Code
While there is no federal law on the dress code, a company cannot put in place a dress
code policy that shows prejudice against anyone based on disability, religion, race, or gender. If
a company does put in place this policy, there must be a reason for any dress code guidelines.
When implementing this policy, the small company must ensure that it is not too strict or
potentially prejudiced. If this type of policy is too strict it can lead to reducing employee morale,
which then could affect employee performance. In addition, this policy does have the potential to
lead an employee to file a claim against the small company due to how strict the policy might be.
Employees could also cause outrage and make it public if the dress code is unfair. For example,
the dress code policy reversal done at Starbucks amid Black Lives Matter, where an internal
memo prohibited wearing BLM shirts when previously Starbucks provided LGBTQ items for the
employees to wear (Douglas et al., 2021). This is an example that when a company puts in place
a dress code, they should not make exceptions to certain groups as other employees can see it as
unfair.
The way an employee dresses can play an important role in how successful the visit is for
the patient, especially for a dentist as it can be a deciding factor for a successful doctor-patient
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relationship (Roehrens et al., 2022). Every single person at the company is seen as the face of the
company, therefore the employees must be properly dressed. With employees properly dressed,
it will make them look more presentable, professional, responsible, competent, and honest, as
they are wearing the company name that has a reputation (Wardhana & Harsono, 2020).
Perception of the customers can be an advantage for the company, as it can have a lasting
positive effect on the customer, leading to more business. The way an employee dresses can
affect their work behavior, which could be a benefit for the company (Wardhana & Harsono,
2020). Proverbs 15:3 shows us that “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on
the evil and the good”. The meaning of this biblical verse is that you should dress properly for
work as there is temptation to dress more relaxed to work which could make you feel more
lethargic instead of being motivated. Overall, this element of the dress code should be enrolled in
the policy manual because it can affect gaining a customer, as every business's end goal is to
have sustainable growth.
Policy 4: Benefits Paid Time off
When an employee starts working at a company, they are given several benefits such as
paid time off, 401K, etc. These benefits must be laid out in the employee handbook, so the
employee knows exactly what they are receiving. An important benefit that employees look at
when joining a company is their vacation time or paid time off. There are several types of paid
time off that the employer can offer such as parental leave, and paid time off.
Parental leave would involve parental and maternal leave. This type of leave is used
when the employee welcomes a newborn into their family. This type of paid time off is used so
the household can focus on taking care of the newborn due to it being a life-changing event for
the family. Parental leave is extremely important for the father due to the child bonding, and if
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the parental leave can be more than two weeks it can positively affect the child’s perception of
the father (Petts et al., 2019). It is extremely important for both the father and the mother to have
bonding time with their newborn and is an important policy for any company to have no matter
what size they are. If the company places this policy in place for paid parents it can smooth
household earnings and can have a positive effect on maternal health as well as child health and
development (Bullinger, 2019). Companies big or small should care about their employees and if
the company wants to retain their employees, they need to do what is best for them and with that
would be applying the benefits of paid time off, especially parental leave. Colossians 3:17 shows
us that “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father through him”. The meaning of this biblical phrase is
everything you do in life, do it in the name of the Lord, as such the small company should do
everything, they can accommodate people when it comes to paid time off especially when it
comes to a newborn entering the family.
For paid time off, the employee is allowed to take it at their leisure. This type of leave is
most often provided to the employees at each company. Employees normally take it for
vacations or to take a break from working every week. The benefits of implementing paid time
off for employees are increased work productivity, increased morale, and retention (Davison &
Blackburn, 2022). Every company should want their employees to be happy and stay with the
company, as it would lead to a reduction in turnover and the company having to spend money to
hire new people.
In today’s work environment, small companies fight to balance productivity and
employee satisfaction amongst diverse needs and preferences. Applying written policies such as
those listed above is important to ensure clarity and consistency. These policies can address the
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issues that small companies deal with and mitigate conflicts by fostering a positive
organizational culture that prioritizes employee well-being and company success.
Human Resource Policy Project 10
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